Beverage - Imprint Enterprises - Since 1975 https://imprint-e.com Barcode Experts for Your Business And Industry Needs. Tue, 13 Apr 2021 19:08:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://imprint-e.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cropped-IMPRINT-ENTERPRISES-Logo100-SQ-32x32.png Beverage - Imprint Enterprises - Since 1975 https://imprint-e.com 32 32 The Importance of Food Safety Within the Supply Chain https://imprint-e.com/the-importance-of-food-safety-within-the-supply-chain/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-importance-of-food-safety-within-the-supply-chain https://imprint-e.com/the-importance-of-food-safety-within-the-supply-chain/#respond Tue, 13 Apr 2021 19:04:16 +0000 https://imprint-e.com/?p=295323

Consumers are placing high levels of trust in farms, slaughterhouses, supermarkets, and all the stops along the supply chain. That trust is showcased every day through their purchasing decisions.

The truth is that more work can be done to improve food safety in these locations. There are over 48 million foodborne pathogens that make Americans sick every year. The annual healthcare cost for this is $55.5 billion. 

Improving food safety along the supply chain could help bring healthcare spending on foodborne illnesses under control.

Below are a few statistics that highlight the need to improve food safety and meet customer standards.
  • 70 percent of consumers say that the way food is manufactured, prepared, and handled is of high importance to them.
  • 69 percent of decision makers say that the industry is prepared to manage food traceability and transparency but only 35 percent of consumers agree.
  • 93 percent of decision makers are planning to make increases to their investment in food monitoring technology.
  • 41 percent of decision makers say that RFID tags improve food traceability more than any other technology, yet only 31 percent currently use them. Emerging technologies such as temperature-sensitive labels and blockchain could also likely have an impact on food safety within the supply chain.

Zebra technologies develop products that help companies keep food safe for consumers throughout all locations along the supply chain.

Food Safety Automation Through Touch Screens and Tablets

Checking the freezer with a thermometer

Improper handling of food can put both employees and customers at risk for potentially serious foodborne illness. Poor protocols can increase liability and undermine your company’s reputation and bottom line. Traditionally, paper logs are used to record temperature data to monitor food safety along the supply chain.

The supply chain is larger and busier than ever before. Safety is paramount and the delays associated with paper and pencil could be catastrophic for the entire supply chain. It could drastically slow recording down, and it doesn’t provide any type of continuous monitoring.
Technology such as touch screens and tablets can help to better bolster food safety.

Disney CHEFS and Zebra

Disney CHEFS is a mobile application developed by Disney that automates food safety expertise gained through operating their amusement parks. They are increasing third-party licensing for this program, opening it up for use in warehouses, grocery stores, and other stops along the supply chain. This application paired with Zebra hardware are prime examples of how to use technology to keep employees and consumers safe.

Download our Infographic to Closing the Trust Gap: Technology and the Food Supply Chain

Infographic to Closing the Trust Gap: Technology and the Food Supply Chain

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Follow HACCP Procedures for Stricter Compliance

Hazards Analysis at Critical Control Points (HACCP) is a globally accepted process for assuring food safety. By following the procedures associated with this process, food products can remain safer along the supply chain. Below are some suggestions for following HACCP procedures. Below are a few more suggestions to maintain compliance.

Grocery bag with food

Technology Speeds Up The Temperature Monitoring Process

When businesses logging food safety issues on paper logs discover potential safety issues, it may come with potentially dangerous or costly delays. It’s not a system that lends itself to immediate action. Bluetooth sensors allow for speedy, continuous monitoring with a dependable data set.

Health Department Compliance

When companies fail to comply with health department standards it can lead to further complications. Errors in temperature control, or lack of training for new employees can lead to costly mistakes and additional food safety risk. The use of current technology can make it easier for your team to maintain consistent, accurate readings.

The Use of TC51 and TC70 Computers or the ET50 Tablet from Zebra

The Zebra TC51 and TC70 computers, or the ET50 tablet from Zebra serve as a way to utilize the latest digital technologies to improve your company’s food safety regulations. Integrated food safety software can help your company remain in compliance with all food safety regulations in an effort to keep employees and customers safe.

The Use of Rugged Tablets

Durable touch screen computers and handheld tablets can help add technology to the food safety process as well. The IP65 and IP67 tablets are standardized to MIL-STD 810G standards. They can handle the drips, spills, and splashes that can occur while handling food products in the supply chain.

Rugged Tablets

Enhanced Temperature Control

m300-photography website phone app

Strict temperature controls are one of the most significant measures for food safety. Zebra computers, tablets, and temperature control sensors can collect and analyze data in your cold storage areas making sure that your protocols are closely monitored.

Remote Temperature Probes

Zebra tablets and computers work with sanitized Bluetooth and Wi-Fi thermometers designed to ensure proper temperatures during food preparation. The protocols to follow when temperatures are not within guidelines are also readily available. Real time and historical reports can also easily be accessed within the system.

 

Accessible Data

With the Disney CHEFS program on Zebra computers and tablets, all food safety data is automatically recorded onto the device and becomes immediately accessible. It becomes easy to access critical data within the system and keep employees and customers safe. It’s also not susceptible to human error in the same way that paper logs would be.

Food and Beverage Distribution Labels

Zebra also offers printing and labeling options designed to meet the unique temperature conditions within your warehouse. This allows for better transparency and stronger food safety adherence. We have labels suited to freezers, humid warehouse conditions, or dry storage applications.

Our labels are known for:

• Reliable scannability
• Durable adhesiveness
• Maximum printer uptime

 

Using Better Technology to Create a Stronger Adherence to Food Safety

Technology can help you to educate your employees and consumers on the importance of food safety within the supply chain. Simple prompts for when to take and record food temperatures, or when to wash your hands can help minimize training and let your employees know what is expected of them. The opportunity is also there to educate consumers about the steps that you take to ensure that their food is kept under the safest standards while in your care.

The combination of Zebra hardware with applications like Disney CHEFS allow for continual measurements, and easy access to data, drastically improving food safety and keeping employees and customers safe from foodborne illness.

Download the 10-page Food Safety Supply Chain Vision Study “Technology and the Food Supply Chain –
The path toward better food safety through traceability and improved consumer confidence”

Cover for Food and Beverage Distribution Labels
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Download “Food and Beverage Distribution Labels: Specialized labels for your environment”

Cover for Food and Beverage Distribution Labels
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Download the application brief – “Automating Food Safety Assurance with Zebra Touch Screen Computers and Tablets
REAL-TIME WIRELESS FOOD SAFETY TECHNOLOGY”

Cover for Automating Food Safety Assurance with Zebra Touch Screen Computers and Tablets REAL-TIME WIRELESS FOOD SAFETY TECHNOLOGY
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For more information, visit www.imprint-e.com  or contact us at (855)745-4464 or drop us an email at customer_service@imprint-e.com.

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]]> https://imprint-e.com/the-importance-of-food-safety-within-the-supply-chain/feed/ 0 4 Tips for Improving Food Traceability in the Supply Chain https://imprint-e.com/4-tips-for-improving-food-traceability-in-the-supply-chain/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=4-tips-for-improving-food-traceability-in-the-supply-chain https://imprint-e.com/4-tips-for-improving-food-traceability-in-the-supply-chain/#respond Fri, 25 Aug 2017 13:45:16 +0000 https://www.imprint-e.com/?p=271845 The food supply chain is one of the most complex and highly regulated in the world. Food safety in the U.S. is a key concern, and food traceability requirements from the FDA have increased along with the number of costly recalls that food manufacturers and retailers have had to manage. Consumers are also much more […]

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]]> The food supply chain is one of the most complex and highly regulated in the world. Food safety in the U.S. is a key concern, and food traceability requirements from the FDA have increased along with the number of costly recalls that food manufacturers and retailers have had to manage. Consumers are also much more aware of food recalls, which can damage a brand if not handled promptly and openly.

Utilizing automatic identification technology like barcodes and RFID can help automate food traceability processes and streamline recalls. Integrators like Imprint Enterprises offer a variety of solutions for labeling and tracking both hot and frozen foods, bagged products, and even livestock to provide farm-to-fork traceability. Our customers successfully use automatic identification to improve food traceability and supply chain operations; here are four ways:

Improving Identification: The EU Food Law, the U.S. Bioterrorism Act and the Food Safety Modernization Act require business to collect and store large amounts of information about where food comes from and who has handled it. Automatic data collect technology can improve the efficiency and and reduce the cost of these efforts.

Technology not only improves compliance, but can also improve accuracy and efficiency across the entire supply chain. Barcodes or RFID technology can reduce or eliminate shipping and receiving errors and improve inventory management, while also providing an auditable record of which entities have handled which products. And for businesses that already use automatic I.D. systems, upgrading to the newest technologies can help provide further benefits and improvements.

Accelerate Recalls: Food recalls are often broad and extremely expensive. In order to ensure the safety of the public, large amounts of products are often recalled even when just a single lot or batch from a specific facility are contaminated. By combining the traceability information required by the FDA with specific product labeling data included in a barcode label or RFID tag, companies can enable highly targeted recalls that only affect the specific products affected. By increasing the amount of data on the unit-of-use packaging, manufacturers can limit recalls — even sending notifications to customers who have purchased the affected products based on point of sale data.

Improve Dock Productivity: With barcodes and RFID, as soon as items are scanned at receiving or shipping, time and data stamps can be applied and database records automatically updated to improve food traceability. Using manual processes not only makes this level of food traceability impossible, it also leads to inefficient dock operations. By moving from barcodes to RFID, EPCglobal estimates that companies could save between $0.01 and $0.03 per case at receiving based on a seven-month study at a distribution center. Receiving errors could be eliminated as well.

Automatic identification also enables cross-docking operations, in which dock workers can receive cartons and then immediately relabel them for shipping without having to put them away in the warehouse. Crossdocking can be extremely valuable when shipping perishable items, as it can cut transit time substantially.

Consider Your Operating Environment: Food packaging is exposed to a number of temperature and environmental extremes, particularly in cold chain applications where products are stored in freezers or refrigerated warehouses and moved onto and off of trucks. Barcode and RFID labels can be damaged, absorb moisture, and even fall of if the adhesive fails.

Make sure you select labels, printing materials, and adhesives that can withstand these temperature shifts and exposure to moisture. ARMOR, for example, offers thermal transfer printing solutions that can product durable barcode and human readable information that maintain legibility in moist or cold environments. The company’s wax-resin and resin inks comply with both EU and U.S. FDA requirements for food contact.

Food traceability also requires cooperation across the supply chain, from growers to retailers. Automatic identification solutions can not only help improve your ability to internally track products and respond promptly to recalls, but can also enable more efficient data sharing with your trading partners. With this cooperation and the right solutions, food traceability is a manageable task your team can accomplish efficiently and accurately, keeping your company in compliance and protecting your customers and your brand.

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